Battle of Wachau, October 16, 1813 at Historicon.

 

Terrain Map

Deployment Map

Overview of the starting positions looking South from Wachau; the game was once played once again in the Independence (HMGS Next Gen) room.

Slightly different view

Allies get the first MOVE...

We had a lot of experienced players, but also some inexperienced ones. 

Sebastiani's cavlry Corps (3 units) entrs on a triple MOVE!

MacDonald makes an early arrival on the French Left, and the Imperial Guard cavalry moves out early and fast!

Larger overview from around the same time. 

Long time Piquet/FoB friends Jim Mauro and Chris Velas; I finished setting the table up around 5:45 PM, and Jim and I shared a great rooftop dinner at a nearby restaurant during the ensuing hour.

Midgame overview; very heavy fighting in the center!

Close up of the Center and Allied Left; Meerveldt threatens the French right, but understandably lacks enthusiasm for an attack across the bridge into the Old Guard!

The combined Russian and Prussian Guards make a timely entry!

Russian Infantry and Grenadiers press the attack in the center. 

Guard cavalry after it struck two Russian Musketeer units in the flank!

Not too long after that, we called the game at about 11 PM; the edge was certainly to the French, who had lost about 25% of their Morale points vs 50% for the Allies, but the outcome was far from certain. As in the playtest, the French suffered much of their losses from their Artillery arm. Many of the players stayed after the game to help pack up the troops and terrain' as always, that was a huge help! It may be a month or two before the troops all get sorted out back to their usual boxes back home here, though. That's usually pretty par for the course; after a great Historicon, I'm usually wargamed out for several weeks to a month or so thereafter!

How about the FoB3 rules vs Battle Command?  All in all, I think about the same speed of play with this many players. The increased options are good, but if a couple of commands are heavily engaged and the others aren't, that may indeed slow play down more, especially if the engaged players are indecisive or inexperienced.  FoB3 is a bit easier for new players to grasp, because, with a few exceptions, you can only do what the cards allow. I think both sets are roughly equal, just different twists on the same key concepts. I'm happy to play either. I am already thinking about what to do next year. .. definitely smaller! Just remind me about that going forwards when I forget! :-)

Next year, in Lancaster!  Meanwhile, there will be several more Historicon 2023 posts to come!